San Jose: Intellectually Property rights violations have caused significant losses to nearly half the suppliers of semiconductor equipment and materials, according to a report by Semiconductor Equipment Materials International, a trade group.
The group, based in San Jose, California, and commonly known as Semi, estimates the losses may exceed $4.5 billion annually, including loss of market share, reduced average selling process and loss of market value.
Violations include patent infringement, counterfeiting and theft of core technologies, products, spare parts and components. Trade secret theft and trademark infringement are also issues, according to the report.
Customers are among the chief offenders, with 53 per cent of the companies participating in the survey reporting customer IP rights violations. Semiconductor manufacturers are the customers for this industry.
"However, since the prevailing rule in the industry is that the supplier will not take legal action against its customers, suppliers feel helpless," according to the report. "This is due to fear of antagonising customers and the high probability of losing all sales to them."
The trade group's members reported their greatest concern about IP rights violations arising in Taiwan. Others on that list include China, Korea, North America, Japan and Europe.
Legal action
Of the companies participating in the survey, 60 per cent have taken legal action against IP violators, with only 48 per cent reporting satisfactory results.
Some companies said they chose not to take action against infringers, citing inconsistencies in global IP practices, concerns about countermeasures they could face, and worries their costumers would be dragged into the process.
Maintaining a patent portfolio and managing the company's IP assets cost the trade group's members and average of $215 million per year. Annual losses relating to IP litigation average between $75 million and $120 million, according to the report.
